The Royal and the Warrior

Chapter 1: The Royal Family

As I sat at my bedroom vanity, brushing out the tangles in my freshly-showered hair and enjoying the summer sun and warmth streaming through the open window, I let my mind drift to welcoming summer vacation.

For the next three months, there would be no thoughts of tedious assignments, late nights cramming for exams, rushing to early morning classes because you stopped at the coffee shop and waited in line for your favorite caffeine fix, and definitely no arguing with your roommates about who takes the most time in the bathroom to get ready.

Nothing to worry about except laying out by the pool with friends during the day, going to summer kick-back parties at night, and spending any moment in-between working on dance routines. Dance: the activity I've devoted myself to doing any time I can since I could crawl.

I'm back in my own house; the pack house, with my family, and I'm not going to let myself stress over school until these three months are up. Not even family drama can stop me from enjoying this summer.

I live in, for lack of a better term, a property that could be comparable to a European palace. Barely outside of the district of our town, was our pack's manor of great proportions. Surrounded by a steel gate, our home stood tall with marble columns in the front and a victorian stature to uphold the grandeur of it all. It's been the pack house for generations and as Alpha, dad has felt the need to keep making it bigger. He's always been one of those "the bigger the better, and if there's something better, I want the best" type of people.

During the year, we're away at school, leaving the house mostly empty with just dad, the housing staff, and, sometimes, new pack families who may need a place to stay before moving into their own residences surrounding our pack boundaries. My dad has no problem filling the house space with the lavish parties he throws for pack connections and his company endeavors.

In addition to being the Alpha of the royal pack of the Western Hemisphere of the world, he's a business man with holdings in almost every state in the U.S., most of South America, scatters in Europe, and various parts of Asia and the Middle East. He's the popular girl in school who usually only pays attention to those deemed worthy of her time. Unfortunately, my brothers and I don't always fall into that category.

Of course we've adapted to how busy he has to be. Being head of a worldwide corporation and traveling across continents continuously, while ruling over a huge portion of werewolves in the world and keeping the peace, calls for some understanding of why your dad can't be at your brothers' sports games or your dance recitals. But since my mom passed away a few years ago, all he's done is bury himself in everything business and everything pack related. It's like he's been on autopilot to avoid feeling anything resembling a warm emotion. We know he loves us, but we also know that when he looks at us he sees mom, which drives him even harder back into his work.

I know he sees her especially when he looks at me. With long, black hair, light olive skin, and deep brown eyes, I'm almost an exact copy of the late Luna. My brothers got blessed with my dad's blue eyes and tanned skin. Even my twin. Not fair. However, we all share the same voluminous, black hair, family trademark, I guess.

Anyways, my dad's been at home with us more often since he's closing a business excursion this summer with a company large enough to rival his own, hopefully it can stay that way for a little while longer. That would make this a near perfect summer. This wasn't just any summer.

This was my 18th summer. My 18th birthday. The time in a young wolves' life they are able to finally find their destined half, their souls' completion. Their mate.

The Royal Alpha commemorates his pups' 18th celebration with a large gathering in their honor, inviting packs from around the world to take part in the event, in hopes of making the chance of finding their mate as soon as possible even greater. My brother Darius found his mate at his celebration while my eldest brother Cyrus found his mate while on a business trip in Europe with our dad. It varies from situation to situation, I guess.